Molpus Woodlands buys 26,786 acres

COEUR d’ALENE — A timber management group from Mississippi has purchased nearly 27,000 acres of timberland from a single seller in North Idaho and eastern Washington.

Michael R. Cooper, a spokesman for Molpus Woodlands Group, said the property is located in six of Idaho’s northernmost counties and three counties in northeastern Washington.

“One seller owned the land,” Cooper said, adding he could not disclose the name of the seller or the price that was paid. “It was a reputable company.”

The Molpus Woodlands Group is a timberland investment management organization headquartered in Jackson, Miss. The company said it purchased approximately 26,786 acres of timberland.

The properties are in the vicinity of Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.

Cooper said the property has been managed on a sustainable basis for decades.

The property is primarily dominated by conifer sawtimber, with a wide range of commercial species including Douglas fir, western larch, grand fir, alpine fir, western hemlock, western red cedar and ponderosa pine.

Molpus currently maintains an office in Coeur d’Alene that will assume the responsibilities associated with this new acquisition. The Idaho team will now be managing approximately 163,000 acres of property.

Cooper said Molpus plans to continue managing the properties for timber production.

“It will be business as usual for the local communities,” he said, adding the company plans to engage in the same stewardship and sustainable management practices the previous owners used to maintain the land.

Molpus currently has 1.9 million acres under management in 18 states, valued in excess of $2 billion.

According to the company’s press release, Molpus Woodlands Group is a registered investment adviser company that was founded in 1996 as a Timber Investment Management Organization and has a company legacy dating to 1905. Molpus is one of the oldest timber-related companies in the nation, with experience in all facets of timber management, manufacturing, and marketing. Molpus acquires, manages, and sells timberland as an investment vehicle for pension funds, college endowments, foundations, insurance companies and high-net-worth individual investors.